Haiti

It had been nearly two weeks since the Haitians went to the polling stations to pick their favourite presidential candidate among 54 contenders. It was the day before departure and an email from a Haitian tour operator I had contacted landed in my inbox. The email advised me not to travel to Haiti because of threats to security following protests that can turn violent.

Empty Caribbean white-sand beaches baked in year-round sun, with rhum sours and lobster dripping in Creole sauce, five star hotels and modern transport that requires virtually no advanced booking, along with deserted first rate heritage sights, all at the home of voodoo.